Textile printing machine



y 1943- I G. w. DARENB.ERG irrm. 2,320,269

TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE FiIed May 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'INVENTOR. GEORGE WDHEENBEEG DON/4L1) SHE/q ATTORNEY.

y 9 7 5. w. DAREfiBERG ETAL 2,320,269

TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE Filed May 13, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

GEORGE W .Dfi/QENBERG DONHLD SHE/7 I ATTORNEY.

Patented May 25, 1943 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE George W. Darenberg and Donald Shea, Freeport, N. Y., assignors to Phoenix Novelty Textile Printers. New York, N. Y. Application May 13, 1941, Serial No. 393,158 2 Claims. (Cl. 101 126) Ihis invention relates to printing, and in particular to the printed ornamentation of fabrics by the use of a stencil embodied in a printing machine or press.

In printing on fabrics it is the practice to use a roll like cylinder over which the fabric to be printed upon passes as .the printing is done. The fabric, being porous, will permit passage of. the ink there-through to a certain extent and in order to prevent the ink from adhering to the printing roller, use is made of backing paper which is fed under the fabric and therewith as the latter passes over the roller. This backing paper is expensive as it is used in very large quantities and may have to be used for the entire width of the fabric or as an underlying edge border to receive the overprint that normally reaches the edge of the fabric.

In order to eliminate the use of the paper backing both in its web or strip form and to obviate the use of any backingmaterial we have produced a novel arrangement of press through which the fabric passes in direct contact with the cylinder during the printing operation. While We are aware that paper has been employed in printing to serve as a protective agent to prevent, offset it is pointed out that in the printing of fabrics and particularly of the sheer type the problem of printing thereon without the paper backing has not been solved because the weave of fabric readily allows passage therethrough of the printing ink and if paper Were not employed to keep the cylinder clean, the back of the fabric would pick up the ink on the printing cylinder and the fabric would be unfit for use. The back of the fabric must be kept clean and to this end, We employ a metal printing cylinder having a high polish over which the fabric is passed to be printed upon. This cylinder receives the printed impression that passes through the openingsor mesh of the fabric and after the fabric leaves the cylinder the latter is scraped, the inked section is subjected to a solvent bath and the cylinder is then cleaned before it is again engaged by the fabric at the printing point.

It is the object therefore, of our invention to provide a press in which fabric printing may be carried out continuously without employing any paper or other material as a backing medium, to apply a scraping means to the impression cylinder; to bathe a portion of the cylinder as it revolves and to clean the remaining solvent and ink from the cylinder so that the clean surface thereof affords a support for the fabric at the point of printing impression.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises certain constructions and variations hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims; preferred embodiments of our invention being illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: b

Figure l is a view in side elevation of a fabric printing press in which is incorporated our novel forms of construction, illustrating the means for cleaning the cylinder and handling the fabric after printing.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view in side elevation'showing a modified form of means for applying a solvent to the surface of the cylinder.

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of a. modified form of fabric printing press in which is incorporated a fabric stripping device for use with very sheer material; the cylinder cleaning means being also illustrated, and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a further modified form of applying a solvent to the cylinder. 7

Referring to the drawings in detail, It indicates the frame of a press between the sides of which are. journalled for rotary motion, the cylinder ll and the stencil rolls l2 about the latter of which passes the stencil l3. As the structure ofparts of Figures 1 and 3 are the same, a description of one will sufiice and referring particularly to Fig- 1 ure 1 it will be noted that the polished metal cylinder II and stencil rolls {2 are driven in unison by meshing gears l4, shown diagrammatically. The cylinder His driven by belt or chain drive from a motor l5 and revolves in a solvent bath pan or receptacle 16 containing any suitable printing ink solvent ll. The drive belt or chain is denoted by the numeral l3.

At the top of the cylinder, and disposed within the stencil I3 is an ink fountain l9 whose fit to the stencil is such that the ink is forced through the usual stencil openings to print on the fabric 20 passing between the cylinder and the stencil as well understood in the fabric printing art. While we have shown one form of stencil, it is understood that any form may be used, such for instance, as the well-known cylinder type of stencil.

The cylinder rotating clockwise as indicated is engaged by a blade 2| known as a scraper blade which extends substantially the width of the cylinder and is mounted for pivotal movement against the cylinder by the pivot pins or shaft 22 engaging the sides of the press frame Ill. The blade is yieldably urged against the polished surface of the cylinder throughout its into a trough pan 24, suitably supported in they frame It] beneath said blade, from which it can be removed for reuse.

The color or paint that is not removed by the scraper blade 2! is softened and liquidated by passage through a solvent bath II, the receptacle of which is supported on a shelf or ledge 25 in the frame [0. The cylinder II is engaged at a point in its rotation beyond the solvent bath I! by a squeegee strip or wiper 26 held in a suitable pivot arm 21 which is 'pivotally mounted between the sides of the frame I and adjustable through the medium of an adjusting bolt 28 which can be manipulated to.

vary the pressure of the squeegee strip 25 lengthwise of the cylinder. The squeegee strip or wiper is made of rubber or any resilient composition that is not affected by the solvent such as- -Thyocol or'Neoprene. Any suitable synthetic rubber or like composition may be employed,

which will wipe the surface of the cylinderclean of any remaining ink or color so that as the fabric engages the cylinder at the printing zone the under side of the fabricwill be maintained in a clean and unsoiled condition. 1

As illustrated in Figure 1, the frame Ill may support a conveyor belt 30 operated over the rollers 3|, one of which may be driven as by the belt 32 from the motor l5. As the fabric is lead from the printing point it travels with the conveyor and is lead therefrom to suitable drying racks, not shown. In Figure -2 there is shown a modified form of applying the solvent bath to the cylinder which consists of a roller 35 mounted for free rotation on the top of the pan H in engagement with the solvent I! and the under side of cylinder. This roller. referred to as a solvent roller, may be roughened and somewhat soft so that it will break down any hardened ink on the cylinder as it applies the solvent to the roller. In Figure 4, use is made of a bursh 36 in contact with the solvent and the cylinder and the brush will tend to wipe the cylinder clean as well as apply the solvent.

Referring to Figure 3, use is madeof a stripping conveyor 40 which consists of the conveyor blanket 4| passing over rolls 42, one of which is operated by a belt 43 driven by motor l5 and also actuating a belt conveyor 44 which carries the fabric 20 from the stripper 40 to the usualdrying racks, not shown. As the fabric comes off the cylinder, or rather as it is stripped from the cylinder, to which it has a tendency to adhere because of its sheer or openwork nature, it rests on the stripper conveyor 40 and is prevented from sticking thereto by treatment of the stripper conveyor 40 as well as belt conveyor 44 with flock or powder which is contained in the sifter roll 45 extending the width of the press, as do the conveyors, and positioned adjacent the terminal ends of said conveyors so that the powder or flock that falls out of the sifter roll will fall onto the conveyors 40 and 44. The sifter roll is driven by the belt 43.

It is evident therefore that we have provided a novel form of press in which the printing or ornamentation of fabrics is done whether the fabricbe. sheer or open-mesh or finely woven,

, without the use of any paper or other backmaterial, thus cutting the cost of the printing operations, maintaining the fabric clean on the unprinted side, saving ink or color by scraping it from the cylinder and reusing it, which would not be possible with the use of paper because the ink would dry on the paper and be lost for reuse.

It is to be understood that our invention is not to be'restricted to the precise details of construction shown since various alterations therein may be made without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing the advantages derived from its use.

- What we claim is:

1. In a fabric printing machine, in combination, a stencil, means for applying color through the stencil, a rotary cylinder in contact with which the fabric passes beneath the stencil to receive a print of applied color, said cylinder presenting a smooth surface as a backing in contact with the fabric at the point of color application, means for removing from the surface of said cylinder any color adhering thereto beyond said point of color application, a conveyor having an end adjacent the cylinder for stripping the fabric from the cylinder after printing and means for applying a comminuted material to the surface of said stripper 'conveyor.

2.In a textile printing machine, in combination, a stencil, means for applying color throug the stencil, a rotary cylinder in contact with which the fabric passes beneath the stencil to receive a print of applied color, said cylinder- GEORGE W. DARENBERG. DONALD SHEA. 

